Alycia: Mostly. We fleshed out a script with improvisation, but we never put anything down on paper. It was heavily orchestrated: Going into a scene we’d shape out the arc, talk about the emotional points and how to get from point A to point B. We’d shoot a scene 3 or 4 times and then move on. That was the weirdest trust thing about the movie — we’d finish a scene and I’d think, “Really, you have something usable?”

PW: Has that spoiled you for future roles where there is like a script supervisor making sure you say every “the,” “but” and “it?”

Alycia: I’m in this funny position because if I lived in NY or LA, this would be a huge break. And I don’t take it for granted, but I’m not leaving Seattle. Nobody’s banging down my door to do another movie, and I’m clearly not going to become a studio actress. I mean, I’d have to lose 35 pounds, get a boob job, start lying about my age and…

PW: Lose 30 IQ points!

Alycia: Exactly. So because of that I feel like I have the opportunity to forge my own path. To use this film as a calling card to act in similar projects.

PW: So do you believe they stay together after the credits roll?

Alycia: I don’t want to tell anyone what to think, but I do. I feel like there’s enough love there. They’ve got a strong enough relationship that once this settles to the bottom, they’ll have a lot to work out, but they have so much to work with.

PW: But she might not want Andrew — or his duck — around much!

Alycia: Yes, I think they moved that duck into the bedroom. It’s mounted on the dresser now!

PW: I don’t know that mounted is the right word to be using here…

Alycia: [laughs] Oh, it was fully intentional!

PW: You’re primarily a stage actress. How does seeing your work with an audience compare?

Alycia: It’s been so novel to sit in the audience and watch a show as opposed to being on stage. It’s great because when I walk in, I know my work is already done. And I love hearing the shift in the crowd. Mostly with the men. They do that thing where they keep adjusting in their seats — it’s the best thing in the world.

PW: My favorite scene was the one where your character is drunk and finds out the boys’ plan, your realization is amazing.

Alycia: I’m so excited to hear you say that because it’s my favorite scene. It’s the one I’m most proud of because it was the most delicate.

PW: Followed closely by making pork chops?

Alycia: You know what’s funny, I actually made those pork chops afterward!

PW: Really?

Alycia: Yeah, I cooked them because we weren’t using them again. And then … oh god, I haven’t told anyone this, but after we shot that, the crew went to film the party scene. They were going to come back and film something else with me, so I waited … and they forgot about me! So I fell asleep on the couch with the pork chop getting cold on the counter. It’s exactly what happened in the movie!

PW: You’re so accidentally method, Alycia!

Alycia: That’s what I’ll tell people from now on! “Now, I can understand my character’s sense of abandonment!” [laughs]